Fire and Ice
by The Fink
Summary: Take one Yellow Eagle Wild Force Ranger. Add one Quantum Ranger. Light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance... [COMPLETE!]
1. First Impressions: One

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, events (well some events) aren't mine. Just doing this for fun, entertainment and in the hopes that the concept leaves me alone so that I can get back to writing Max Force.

Inspired by Reinforcements From The Future.

****

NOT a part of the Identiverse.

Written for Chris F. It's not quite the scenario we talked about -- but it is the end result you wanted. Hope you like it, Chris.

With thanks to Selma, Vanessa, Ekat and Gamine, who've seen this as it's built today. And I think this makes me officially the first Eric/Taylor writer in the fandom.

A/N addendum -- this was originally written and conceived the day RFTF 1 first aired. It went way into NC-17 territory originally, so when the NC-17 cull occurred at ff.net last September/October, I had to take it down. I always planned on editing, rewriting and reposting, so this would be the start.

~*~

Fire and Ice

Taylor stared.

He was absolutely, mouth dryingly, heart stoppingly gorgeous.

And disturbingly familiar, too.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

No 'thank you', no 'you saved our butts'... That was when it dawned on Taylor where she knew him from.

"Hey!" she snapped, powering down. "You're the guy who gave me a ticket this morning!" _Oh, **smooth**, Taylor. Really smooth._

He blinked, a little taken aback.

Taylor stepped forward, jabbing a finger into his ribs, absently noticing that the flesh she was prodding was probably very well formed muscle. "We just helped you -- the least you could do was say thanks!"

He opened his mouth to say something, but Cole interposed himself between them, effectively forcing Taylor to step back.

"Whoa -- wait a second guys," Cole said, trying to ease the tension back.

"We're all rangers here, right Taylor?" Danny added, also forcing them apart. "Right guys?"

Taylor allowed herself to be pushed back, still glaring at him.

For his part, he turned a red-hot glower on Danny -- who had put a hand on his shoulder. "All right," he growled. Disdainfully, he removed Danny's hand from his shoulder. "But I suggest you leave fighting the mutants to the big boys."

__

Big boys?! Why I oughta...

"Mutants?" said Max, bemused.

"They're not mutants," contributed Alyssa. "They're orgs."

"Orgs?"

Taylor watched with some satisfaction as puzzlement swept over his face.

"Listen, guys," said his friend. "We've gotta go -- thanks for your help."

"Any time," Cole answered, smiling.

"C'mon." His friend turned to go. He stayed where he was, still glaring at Taylor. "C'mon, Eric -- let's go." This time his...Eric's friend grabbed at his arm and physically dragged him away.

Taylor watched them leave, glaring daggers at Eric's back. _Who does he think he is?_

"Taylor? Are you coming?" Alyssa's voice broke through the angry train of thought.

With one last glare at Eric's retreating back, Taylor turned and followed the other rangers away from the plaza.

"What a **jerk**," she muttered.

"Who?" Alyssa asked.

"Testosterone boy." Alyssa giggled. "What?" Taylor asked irritably.

"You like him."

"I do not!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Do not what?" Max waned to know.

Taylor glared at Alyssa, but it was too late. "Taylor likes Eric Myers."

"I do not," Taylor retorted. "He's an arrogant jerk."

"But cute with it," Alyssa contributed.

"No he's not."

"Uh-huh. Suuuuuuuuure." Danny seemed amused.

Before Taylor could say anything, Max and Alyssa broke into a chorus of, "Taylor's in love!"

"Knock it **off**!"

Cole grinned. "What's the matter?"

"I am not in love!" Taylor snapped. "The man is an egotistical, arrogant, good for nothing, know nothing jerk."

She stalked off, aware that behind her, the other four had burst into laughter.

__

I am so not in love, she thought to herself. _Even if he **is** kinda cute._

~*~

After an evening of almost constant teasing, Taylor was more than ready to head out of the Animarium to collect her car. _Wish I'd never set **eyes** on Eric 'Quantum Ranger' Myers -- particularly given the amount I now know about the guy. Who'd have thought Alyssa was such a...a...groupie!_

It had turned out that Alyssa knew Eric by sight. He'd trained at her father's dojo for a few years and, from the way Alyssa seemed to know every single last detail about him, the White Ranger harboured a serious crush on him.

__

And she can keep him, too.

But as she turned to unlock her car, she heard the sound of a car pulling up behind her. Turning, she saw the same black SUV as had pulled her over the day before.

__

Oh no not you two again! She groaned softly.

"Shouldn't you be out catching your 'mutants' instead of giving me another ticket?" she asked acerbically as Eric and his friend climbed out of the SUV.

Eric glared at her, but it was his friend who spoke. "No -- we need your help."

Taylor rolled her eyes, glanced at Eric's friend before glaring at Eric himself. "Oh, so **now** you need our help."

Eric returned the glare. "Listen," he said irritably -- this was clearly not his idea, "we think that...if we combine our knowledge, we can defeat these mutants."

"They're not mutants," Taylor retorted. Eric just looked at her as much to say 'and your point is?' _I'm going to regret this. I know I am._ "They're called orgs. And...if you're serious about this..." Taylor sighed. "Follow me."

"I've got a better idea," suggested Eric's friend. "How about we just come with you?"

__

And have Eric soiling my new upholstery?! Taylor swallowed the thought. Eric's friend did have a point. "All right."

Much to her disgust -- and, apparently, Eric's as well -- Eric's friend automatically climbed into the back seat, virtually forcing Eric to take the passenger seat.

"I'm Wes Collins," said Eric's friend as Taylor pulled away the parking spot.

"Taylor Earhardt."

"And since he's sulking," Wes continued, "that big lug..."

"Is Eric Myers -- I know."

"You know?" said Eric, sounding both startled and confused. Taylor smirked. "How do you know?"

Taylor was tempted to say nothing, but a glance in Eric's direction told her that would be a bad idea. "Our White Ranger is Alyssa Enrile -- her father runs a big dojo in Silverhills."

"Oh."

Taylor smirked again. She was tempted to start listing the details that Alyssa had told her the night before, but another glance at Eric told her that would also be a bad idea. "He doesn't have much of a sense of humour," she commented, instead, meeting Wes' gaze in the rear view mirror, "does he?"

Wes flashed her a smile. "His bark is much worse than his bite."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Huh," Eric grunted. "Don't mind me."

"I won't, don't worry," Taylor retorted.

~*~

Taylor led Wes and Eric through into the Animarium. Both looked around in amazement. Taylor smirked. _Never seen anything like this, huh?_ Almost on cue, the Eagle zord flew overhead. Wes and Eric ducked. Taylor laughed.

"That's my Eagle zord," she explained, heading towards the other rangers. "Bet you've never seen anything like it."

Behind her, she heard Eric say, "A giant eagle, huh? That's nothing."

Taylor rolled her eyes. _What a jerk!_

Her opinion began to change, however, as the meeting progressed. It became clear that, while Eric might be an arrogant jerk, he did also know his stuff. After a briefing by the guy with green hair -- Trip, Taylor thought they'd named him -- the talk had very quickly turned to planning.

Wes had proposed that he and Cole go out scouting, to see if they could track down the Mutorgs and at that, Eric had suggested that he and someone else go back to the Silver Guardian headquarters and see if there was any kind of pattern to the Mutorgs' appearances so far.

"I'll go if you like," she said, surprising herself -- and Eric. No-one else seemed at all surprised.

"That's a great idea," said Wes before Eric could say anything.

"Definitely," Cole agreed.

Taylor glared at Cole. Cole shrugged and grinned. To Taylor's surprise, she realised that Eric was treating Wes to exactly the same fate.

"C'mon, guys," said Wes -- clearly as oblivious of Eric's glare as Cole had been of hers. "Sounds like we've got a plan."

~*~

Taylor drove, following Eric's growled directions.

"Look," she finally snapped, "what is your problem?"

"Me?! You're the one with the problem," he retorted.

"Oh yeah? Mr 'Leave the mutants to the big boys'...I mean..."

"Says the woman who was complaining about getting a ticket for doing twice the speed limit **while** talking on a cell phone."

Taylor opened her mouth to reply -- and realised he actually had a point. Eric, for his part, simply sat back in the passenger seat, folded his arms across his chest and said nothing.

"Bastard," she muttered sotto voce.

"Probably," he retorted. "Next left."

Taylor ground her teeth together. _This guy is impossible!_ She took the left and found herself pulling into a parking lot. "This is it?"

"Uh-huh. Pull up in front of the building in one of the visitors' bays. That way, no-one will tow you." Taylor did as she was told. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Taylor asked, not moving a step.

"My office," Eric answered.

"Why?"

He looked at her. "Why do you think?"

Taylor folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "Don't take that tone of voice with me, buster. Why your office?"

There was a lengthy pause. To judge from Eric's expression, he was counting to ten. Slowly. "Because there is a large scale map of Silverhills and Turtle Cove in there that we can use to mark the Mutorg appearances on."

Taylor felt incredibly stupid. Of course that was why they were going to Eric's office. "Oh."

Without waiting for any other form of response, Eric turned on his heel and headed into the building. Taylor had to hurry to keep up with him. _Stupid, stubborn...**jerk**!_

It didn't take long to reach the office -- but when she did...

"What a **shit** hole!" Taylor exclaimed.

"All right, that is it!" Eric slammed the office door behind her, making her jump. "I've had just about all I can stand of you."

Taylor suddenly felt very, very afraid. "What are you going to do?" she croaked.

"This," Eric answered, and leaned in.

* * *

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. First Impressions: Two

This is where the rewrite starts. 

Disclaimer: Characters and (some) events aren't mine. Just doing this for fun and entertainment and to prevent myself from getting lynched!

This (obviously) isn't a part of the ID'verse -- but I reserve the right to reuse certain minor characters...

With thanks to Selma, Gamine, Carrie and Vanessa who saw the original version of this chapter as I wrote it, and thanks again to Vanessa and Gamine who've seen this rewrite build. Also thanks to Justy for not looking at me strangely when he accidentally saw sections of this!

~*~

There was a brief instant when Taylor thought that Eric was going to hit her, then his lips met hers.

It was a savage, unrelenting kiss. One that Taylor was powerless to resist. Her feelings and senses swam as Eric invaded her mouth with his tongue. He was possessive. A hand stroked down the length of her back, pulling her closer to him. Fingers ran through her hair. His tongue skimmed her teeth and explored her mouth. Teeth nipped at her lips.

And then it stopped.

Eric broke the kiss and stepped back.

Taylor felt her knees buckle. Only the close proximity of a filing cabinet prevented her from falling. _No man should be able to kiss like that -- especially not an arrogant...gorgeous...jerk like that!_

He was smirking at her now, as if it had all had no effect on him at all. As if kissing someone like that was an everyday occurrence in the life of Eric Myers.

Anger brought back her ability to speak. "What the hell was all that about?" she yelled.

"Guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do to get some peace and quiet around here," Eric answered.

Outwardly, Taylor schooled her expression into indignation at that. Inwardly she smirked. He **wasn't** as unaffected as he wanted to make her think. There was a fractional hitch to his breathing, a slight tremor to his words. _Two can play at this game._

"You arrogant, egotistical, chauvinistic **bastard**!" she exclaimed.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Name calling, now, are we?" he said mildly.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's impolite not to finish what you start?" Taylor shot back.

She stepped into his personal space. Before he could protest, she leaned forward, taking his face in her hands, and captured his mouth with hers. He froze, and she pressed her advantage, taking bold possession of his mouth. She sucked on his tongue, eliciting a deep moan from him, then swirled her tongue around all the planes and hollows of his mouth in ownership. He tasted of coffee, and mint, and something else that was uniquely Eric Myers. 

She felt a fine tremor run through his muscular form as she gently brushed her fingers down his sides. She smiled into the kiss, then broke it and stepped back to admire her handiwork. So much for his control, Taylor decided, folding her arms across her chest. Eric's face was slightly flushed, his breathing ragged.

"Something you should know," Taylor informed him. "Games like this, I play to win. Don't be making wages your nobility can't honour."

"Who says I can't honour them?" Eric retorted, his voice a husky growl.

Before Taylor could say anything, he leaned in, clearly intending to kiss her again.

"Hey guys!"

Taylor froze at the voice. Eric all but leapt a foot back. Both of them tried to look nonchalant as Max walked in.

"Just wondering if you'd found anything yet," Max continued, oblivious of the class ten glare Taylor was giving him.

"Not yet, no," Eric answered, his tone suggesting he was as frustrated by the intrusion as Taylor was.

"Oh. Well...Princess Shayla sent me to help so..." Max perched on a convenient desk. "What do you want me to do?"

All manner of answers crossed Taylor's mind, mostly revolving around long walks and short piers.

"Sure," Eric answered. "How 'bout you go see Gina -- the receptionist -- and ask her for a pack of map-pins."

"Sure!"

Max bounced off the desk and left the office again. Taylor opened her mouth to say something but a quick shake of the head from Eric made her close it.

__

Later, he mouthed, a rueful expression on his face.

Oh no! He wasn't backing out... "You can't just..."

"And Fish-boy will be back any second," Eric pointed out. "Bluntly, what I wanna do right now, to you -- and with you -- is **not** something I want an audience for."

Taylor quirked an eyebrow. "Are you propositioning me?"

"And I suppose you weren't with that little stunt."

"Only finishing what you started."

"I did not..."

"You did," Taylor cut in. "And you know you did."

Eric opened his mouth to dispute the point further, but stalling him again, Max returned, with a jar of map pins.

"These do?" enquired the perky Blue Ranger.

Eric offered Max a tight smile that, to Taylor, looked as if the Silver Guardian was inwardly thinking of creative ways for Max to die. "Perfect."

~*~

Taylor ended up leaving Eric, Max and Danny -- who also materialised from somewhere -- to trying to sort out any kind of pattern. Too long in their collective company and she was likely to start hitting something in general frustration. And the worst thing was, she wasn't sure where her frustration really stemmed from.

She wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of screwing Eric's brains out. _Or having him screw mine out,_ she admitted as she completed the circuit of the block the SGHQ took up.

A no strings, no regrets, all night bangfest.

Yeah -- that had promise.

A really rousing super-nova of a one-night stand that would leave them both unable to walk straight the next day.

She frowned. It sounded good all right -- definitely a way to relieve the tension and frustration -- but... Sleeping with someone she didn't like? She wasn't a slut and she didn't sleep around. So why wasn't her conscience complaining more about the idea?

The answer came to her in a bolt of uncomfortable understanding. 

She stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk and groaned.

Max and Alyssa's teasing really hadn't been all that far from the mark.

Love and hate really weren't all that far apart. She barely knew him, true, but there was definitely something about a guy who actively stood up to her and challenged her in the way Eric had done. And she couldn't deny the almost magnetic physical attraction she had for him.

__

Wonder how he feels about a woman who's prepared to confront him at every turn, she found herself musing as she started walking again.

She rounded the corner and entered the SGHQ vehicle yard just as the object of her thoughts exited the building.

"Was wondering where you'd gone," Eric observed, his tone milder than she'd heard from him previously.

"You said you didn't want an audience," Taylor answered, smiling a little. "Figured I'd take temptation away."

"Are you propositioning me?" he shot back, a slight grin on his face. Taylor stuck her tongue out at him. "Ooh, very mature, Ms Earhardt."

"You betcha." For good measure, she repeated the gesture and paired it with a cheeky grin.

"Ya know, ya keep that up, I'm gonna find a use for it," Eric stated.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"That a threat?"

"That's a promise." He started to lean in...

...only for them to both leap apart again, looking slightly guilty this time, at the sound a phone ringing. It took Taylor a second to realise that it was actually her growl phone...and that could only mean one thing. She pulled it from her pocket to answer, noting that Eric's expression had shifted from almost playful to serious.

Flipping it open, Taylor answered, "What's up Alyssa?"

"The Mutorgs -- they're back," replied the White Ranger without preamble.

Concern flooded Taylor's mind. "Where?" Alyssa named a location just outside of town. _At least that means no civilians to get hurt,_ Taylor decided. "We'll met you there." Snapping the phone shut, she looked at Eric. "They're back."

* * *

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Second Thoughts: One

A/N: First, I grovel for taking so long to get this part up. Life is hectic, I have had several projects (writing and paid work!) going on recently and the dreaded writer's block struck. I'm aiming to get this whole story finished by the end of August. Second I won't be reposting the NC-17 original of this story anywhere. This is a rewrite/re-edit -- and from this point on, it's almost a completely different story. Third, no, I have no plans to write Eric's side of the story; Taylor's is proving hard enough! Fourth, thank you to the anonymous reviewer who enquired about my back -- it's a whole heap better now and (touch wood) staying that way. Last and by no means least, thank you to Jonathan and Vanessa for taking a look over this and offering up beta comments and thank you and huge hugs to Gamine for beta'ing, prodding, poking and generally being an all round lovely person.

~*~

Fire and Ice: Second Thoughts

Taylor slowly made her way through the Animarium to the waterfall, intending to have a nice, relaxing swim.

__

I can't believe we got beaten like that! 

To say the battle with the Mutorgs had gone badly was perhaps the understatement of the year, if not the decade. It had been disastrous. Nothing they had done had made the slightest bit of difference. But for the arrival of Jen -- Wes' girlfriend unless Taylor missed her guess -- they would have definitely been toast, and even with her arrival they had still come away from the battle bruised and battered.

Reaching the pool and cascade, Taylor shrugged out of her clothing and slipped into the temperate water. As the assorted aches and pains slowly bled away in the soothing warmth of the water, so Taylor's mind slowly turned to other matters. Like where she stood with Eric.

Taylor smiled wryly as she slowly swam towards the cascade. Therein lay the sixty-four thousand dollar question, so the saying went. On the one hand, she knew her own feelings. She wasn't in love, not the whole way, but her feelings were definitely deeper than a surface lust -- and if she'd been in any doubt about that, her reaction to sight of Eric down and injured thanks to a blast of energy from one of the Mutorgs would have cured that.

On the other hand, she didn't know for certain how Eric felt. There was certainly lust. That much was obvious -- particularly given his rather unique mode of 'shutting her up'! But was it anything more than that? Did he **want** anything more than that?

And since the battle, the chance for any kind of private discussion had been limited in the extreme. First everyone else had been around -- there was no way Taylor was risking being interrupted by Max -- then Eric had gone off somewhere with Wes and Jen, presumably to catch up. Now she'd vanished from the temple. Then again, when she'd left, there had been no sign of Eric having returned.

__

Need to make an opportunity, Taylor decided, ducking under the surface of the pool. _But how?_

She kicked for the surface again and was instantly aware of not being alone. She knew it wouldn't be Danny, Max or Cole -- they knew better than to come down here when she was swimming unless they'd been invited. Jen and Wes were very unlikely to know about this place. Alyssa was a possibility, but she too tended to respect Taylor's privacy. All of which meant... 

Dashing the water out of her eyes, she looked.

"Alyssa said I might find you here," Eric said softly. He was casually leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

His words seemed strangely out of character. _Or maybe this is the real Eric Myers._ Under any other circumstances, Taylor knew she would be furious at the intrusion, but somehow the fact that it was Eric made it seem all right. "Just enjoying some peace and quiet." Taylor swam back towards the bank. "Why don't you join me?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

Taylor's eyebrows rose. "Mind telling me why?"

Eric sighed. "I came down here to apologise for this morning..."

"You don't have to."

Ignoring her comment, he continued, "And to tell you I'll keep out of your way."

"And again: Why?"

"I shouldn't have done that," he replied. "I took advantage of you. That was wrong. I'm sorry. This morning shouldn't have happened." 

"Why?" Taylor repeated, trying to swallow the hurt that was welling up at his words. "What's changed since this morning that you've suddenly decided you were taking advantage?" No response. "Damn it, Eric. I think I deserve a straight answer. This morning you wanted to jump me, now you won't even look at me. What's changed?"

"This morning was a mistake. I..." He stopped. "I should go."

"No...no you shouldn't." Taylor started to lever herself from the pool, only to remember she was completely naked. Until she knew exactly what track Eric was on, she wasn't about to bare all.

She thought she saw his mouth twitch, presumably as he realised her state of undress. She half waited for him to teasingly say 'stop me'. But he didn't. The embryonic smirk died. "I should go."

"Look," said Taylor, desperation and hurt warring in her voice, "at least tell me what it was I did."

He looked pole-axed by that. "You?!" There was a long pause. "You didn't do anything." He sighed. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

Taylor stared. This conversation seemed to be heading in a huge circle. "Oh no. No, no, no. If you tell me one more time that you 'took advantage', so help me I will get out of this pool and shake you until your teeth rattle. I want a straight answer, Myers."

"I can't do this."

"Oh yes you damn well can."

Eric looked abashed. "I meant that was the straight answer."

Taylor's eyebrows rose. "If you think that's a straight answer, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you." He had the grace to look sheepish. She sighed. "Look. I'm fast turning into a prune here, but this conversation is not done." Eric looked resigned. "Turn around." 

Somehow, it didn't surprise her when he did as she asked without a murmur. As quickly as she could, she heaved herself out of the pool and wrapped herself tightly in the big, fluffy, yellow towel she'd brought with her.

"OK." Eric turned back to face her. For a full minute, he stared at her, and to her astonishment, blushed vividly and shifted uncomfortably. She shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "So. Wanna try for that straight answer again?"

Looking down, clearly studying his boots, Eric answered, "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." Taylor noted that blood hadn't just rushed to his face, if the prominent bulge in his pants was anything to judge by.

"This. Us. It isn't right."

"You keep saying that but you don't tell me why?"

"This...stuff. Between Rangers. Doesn't work."

"I think Cole and Alyssa would beg to differ," Taylor retorted. "So would Wes and Jen."

At that, Eric's head snapped up. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?" His tone of voice told her there was far more to the situation between Wes and Jen than she knew about. "See, the thing is, this is the first time he's seen her in a year. And when this is all over...she'll be going back to her home and he'll be here, she'll be there and **they** will be nowhere."

"And you know this with absolute certainty?" Taylor retorted. Eric opened his mouth to reply. "Besides, this has exactly **what** to do with 'us'?" Again he opened his mouth, and again, Taylor cut him off. "It doesn't. It's just a convenient excuse. Well, not gonna be fobbed off here."

The colour tingeing Eric's cheeks now was not out of any sort of embarrassment, to judge by the outraged expression and the irritation flashing through his eyes.

"You know, you're an insufferable bitch," he snapped.

"Only when people fuck me around," she shot back. "But then again, if you can't be straight with me over this, then maybe you **are** right, this isn't a good idea."

* * *

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Second Thoughts: Two

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine; some of the events aren't mine either. They're borrowed from BVE without permission. No harm, no foul, no money made.

Author's slightly embarrassed note: OK. Funny definition of August...as you can see, I HAVEN'T forgotten this story. I HAVE been trying to finish it. Writer's block can be a real bitch sometimes. Here is part four. Happy reading -- and thank you for your patience.

~*~

There was a long, long moment of wordless anger, then Eric turned on his heel and stalked away from the pool. Taylor watched him leave and cursed. So much for 'talking'.

"Tayl...oh!" Alyssa's call ended in an exclamation as she rounded the curve of the path and entered the clearing.

Taylor just glared. "Something you wanted?"

"Well I..." Alyssa smiled a little nervously. "Just wondering if Eric found you."

Taylor turned her back to Alyssa and started to make for her pile of clothing. "He found me."

"And...?"

"And nothing," Taylor snapped. "He's a rude, arrogant jerk."

"Oh."

And, Taylor realised, there really wasn't anything more to be said.

~*~

The drawback, Taylor realised, was that as much as she tried to insist to herself she didn't care, and that if Eric couldn't be straight with her now there was no life in their relationship, she couldn't help but look at him, across the temple fire pit, and wonder. What would it be like? What would he be like? Why did she feel as if she'd made the biggest mistake in her life by blowing him out like that?

The only consolation was that if she felt confused and miserable, he looked more so.

That was, Taylor reflected, no consolation at all.

And it got no better as the evening progressed. Ransik's story made for depressing listening. Taylor couldn't imagine being driven to the madness Ransik had been -- and she wasn't sure she wanted to try. Glancing around the rest of the gathering, her reaction wasn't out of place, either. Even the others from the future -- Jen, Trip, Lucas and Katie -- looked shocked. Perhaps the only person who **wasn't** shocked and horrified was, predictably, Eric.

His expression puzzled Taylor. It was a mix of things, she decided. A little surprise, a little chagrin, a little...sympathy, was that? She frowned. The rest of his expression seemed to be knowing. As if he **could** understand where Ransik was coming from.

Taylor shivered. Good guys weren't supposed to comprehend the evil bad guys -- even if the evil bad guys were in the middle of repenting. Unless... No. That was ridiculous.

"Penny for them?"

Taylor started and found Wes looking down at her, small smile on his face. "Huh?"

That small smile evolved into a bigger grin. "You were miles away."

"Oh." Taylor shrugged. "Guess."

Wes gestured to the empty seat beside her. "Mind if I...?"

"No -- sure." Taylor vaguely wondered at what point the meeting had broken up.

"You want to talk about it?" Wes offered.

"Err?" Taylor blinked. "Talk about what?"

Wes inclined his head in the direction of Eric who, it seemed, was on the receiving end of a similar 'deputation', his being from Jen. "I figure that big lug's gone and done something dumb -- again."

"Again? He has a habit of screwing up relationships before they start?" Taylor enquired, the bitterness in her voice coming as a surprise to herself.

Wes simply smiled faintly. "His track record in that area **does** leave something to be desired."

"Oh great." Taylor shook her head. "You know, I'm not sure I wanna hear this."

"It's OK -- I'm not here to talk him up; he's got some really bad habits, he's grouchy, he's miserable...and if you think he's hard on you, try sharing an office with him." At that, Taylor was forced to chuckle. "And he hasn't put me up to this either."

"I figured that, seeing he's getting the second degree from your girlfriend right now," Taylor pointed out.

Wes smiled again. "It's more in self-interest than anything else. You've gotta be able to work together tomorrow...and I figure the fastest way for that to happen is for you to know a bit about him."

Taylor had to admit there was a certain logic to that. "OK -- I'm listening."

"He's not had it easy," Wes stated, smile fading from his face. "I don't know the whole story, even after nearly a year of working together he doesn't one hundred percent trust me. Not with exactly who the hell Eric Myers really is under the bullshit and hardass."

Taylor stared at Wes, almost incredulous. "If he doesn't trust you..."

Wes stalled her with a shake of the head. "It's not 'won't', it's 'can't'." He sighed and cast a glance across the fire pit to where Eric and Jen were talking. "Eric's always...pretty nearly always, as far as I can tell, been on the outside looking in. Never been accepted as part of the crowd. Always been a loner. How much of that was because genuinely no-one wanted him around and how much of that is because kids didn't see they needed to make the effort I don't know." Wes shrugged. "I didn't meet him until he was fifteen -- by which time he'd long since figured the rest of the world were probably going to treat him like scum so he might as well get his retaliation in first."

"What about family?" Taylor found herself asking.

Wes shrugged again. "Don't know -- I'm not convinced he's got much in that line, and what he does have he doesn't know too well." He sighed. "I could probably make a few guesses about that, but that's all they'd be. Like I said. We've worked together nearly a year, and I still haven't entirely proved to him I'm not going to stick a knife in his ribs when he stops watching me."

Taylor winced at that.

"He's getting better," Wes continued, smiling a little. "And I think he does like you -- he's just scared."

"Of me?"

"Of feeling. Of being hurt." Wes smiled again, faintly. "Same things as most people in a new place in their lives. You just need to treat him a bit like stroking a porcupine."

Taylor couldn't help but giggle at that. "You do that a lot?"

Wes chuckled. "Enough to know you stroke with the spines, not against 'em." Taylor nodded, smiling. "So, think you can give him a second shot?"

Taylor sighed, smile fading. Could she? "I can try."

* * *

__

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Third Time's a Charm: One

Disclaimer: Not mine. No money made. No harm, no foul.

Muchos gracias to Gamine for the assorted help.

~*~

Fire and Ice: Third Time's A Charm

After Wes had finished talking to her, Taylor chewed over what he'd said. It sounded as if any relationship with Eric -- beyond simply working with him -- would be a lot of hard work. Would it be worth it? Would he even let her try?

She glanced up to see what Eric was doing now. Looked as if whatever Jen had been talking to him about was done. In fact, she and Wes seemed to be settling down in a corner of the temple ruins, leaving Eric sitting alone.

As Taylor watched, she caught the wistful look Eric shot in the direction of Wes and Jen. A look that underlined the truth in Wes' words. A look that told her it was definitely worth a shot. No-one should look that lonely.

Before she even consciously realised her decision, she found herself quietly walking around the temple fire pit towards him. As she neared, he looked round, presumably hearing her footsteps.

"Hey."

He looked self-conscious and abashed. "Hey."

"I...ah..." Taylor stopped. What did she want to say?

"Sorry." The word was abrupt, the tone was sheepish. It was also, comfortably, the last thing she'd imagined Eric saying. "About...y'know."

Taylor blinked. What the hell was she supposed to say now?

"'Spect Wes told you," Eric continued, looking down at his hands and avoiding her gaze completely. "Don't exactly have a great record with relationships."

"You got scared."

After a glance around, presumably to make sure there was no-one else listening -- which there wasn't -- he admitted softly, "Not scared. Petrified."

Taylor blinked again. Something else she wasn't expecting: Complete honesty. And it was honest. She could see it was, just from the awkward set to his shoulders and the embarrassed expression on his face. "Why?" she asked softly.

"Bunch of reasons." He shrugged stiffly. "Guess mostly...you get kicked often enough you figure everyone's gonna kick you. So you kick first."

Taylor nodded. That made a twisted sort of sense. "Did you mean it?" Part of her didn't want to know the answer. The rest of her was determined to know where she stood. Even if that did mean hearing something that had the potential to hurt. A lot.

"No." The word was quiet. Sheepish. Suddenly restless, he stood up and held out an almost timid hand. "Walk with me?"

Taylor felt her heart skip a beat. He seemed to be full of surprises tonight. "Of course."

She took the proffered hand and found herself noting that it felt strong and warm if slightly rough. _Why didn't I notice he had nice hands before?_ she found herself absently wondering, as they wandered out of the temple ruins and into the Animarium jungle. The clear moonlight and the pale light from the stars lit their way bathing everything in an almost ethereal glow. It was, Taylor decided, possibly the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

And probably the most romantic, too.

For a while, they just walked in silence. Taylor sensed Eric was trying to order his thoughts and she didn't want to interrupt. On the other hand, as nice as this was, she was completely confused -- and that was only going to be cured by breaking the silence.

She finally said, "Eric -- talk to me. Where are we going?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "Everything's out of control."

"Still scared?"

"Still petrified." 

They stopped walking. Looking around, Taylor realised they'd wound up at the pool where they'd argued earlier in the day.

There was another lengthy silence.

"Eric, what do you want?" she asked softly.

The question hung on the air. For the longest time, Taylor wasn't even sure he'd heard it, much less was prepared to answer her. Then he **did** answer. A simple, single syllable.

"You."

Taylor felt her breath catch in her throat as she turned to look at him. Eric's eyes were dark in the half-light and glittering with desire and promise. The smile, though, was tentative. Hesitant. As if he was expecting her to turn tail and run. She smiled back. She wasn't going anywhere.

Tentatively, he reached out a hand and traced her jawline with his fingers. The touch was barely there, enough to tease, not enough to lean into. She found herself making a soft sound, somewhere between a whimper and a moan.

She met his gaze, almost daring him to go further. Eric's smile strengthened at that. Gently brushing a few strands of hair off her face, he leaned forwards and lightly brushed his lips against her temple. It was an oddly chaste yet strangely intimate gesture that sent Taylor's heart rate soaring. She moaned again. He was so near now. She could feel the way his heart was hammering in his chest, she could smell the exotic, earthy mix of the cologne he'd used that morning and his own, unique scent, she could see the question in his eyes, silently asking permission.

She gave it.

He leaned forwards once more and brushed his lips against hers in the lightest of kisses. So gentle and teasing. She moaned softly. Not enough. She felt his arms go around her, one encircling her waist, the other gently cradling her head. Then he kissed her again.

This time, it was the real thing, and yet it was about as different from the two kisses they'd shared that morning as it could be. That morning had been about aggression and power. This was about something infinitely more tender than that. He teased her lower lip, gently coaxing her mouth to open into the kiss. When it did, he slipped his tongue in to taste her, lightly skimming the planes and hollows of her mouth in exploration. 

The kiss deepened as Taylor's arms went around his waist, pulling them closer together until she lost all sense of where she ended and where Eric began. He seemed to be in no hurry to move on from the kiss, which surprised her a little. Most of the guys she'd ever been with used kissing as just a prelude to sex, but this unhurried, long, passionate kiss seemed like an end in itself.

And just as Taylor was thinking that she could get used to the idea, there was a footfall from somewhere behind them. They both froze, caught in the act.

"Um," said Alyssa. "Oops!"

__

At least it's not Max, Taylor found herself thinking as she heard Alyssa turn tail and flee. _That's gotta be something._

The sound of rapidly retreating footsteps echoed in the still night air, but it wasn't until their very last echo died away before either of them moved, and then it was only to move a little further apart, a gesture that left Taylor almost painfully aware of how aroused the kiss had left her.

"Maybe...we should..." Eric began.

"So help me, if you say we shouldn't do this, Eric Myers, I can promise you the rest of your life will be very short!" Taylor retorted, a little more harshly than she intended, but the sense of frustration, particularly after the assorted false starts of earlier in the day, was too great to be completely swallowed.

Eric, for his part, gave a sheepish sort of chuckle. "I probably deserved that." He reached out to gently brush a couple of errant strands of hair away from her face. "I was going to suggest, maybe we should find somewhere more private?"

It took Taylor a second to comprehend what he'd said. Then it dawned on her that if she felt frustrated, he probably felt the same way. Reaching up, she captured his hand. "This way."

She led him around the pool to the edge of the cascade.

"Uh, excuse me for asking," Eric began.

Taylor shot him a half smirk/smile. "Trust me." So saying, she stepped onto a narrow ledge that led behind the cascade. Two steps, and a light dusting of spray later and they were both in an ample cave. "I found this first time I came swimming," she explained. "You can't see it from the pool side -- great place to hide...or do other things," she finished, her voice dropping to a lascivious murmur.

"Good."

Not giving her a chance to reply, Eric leaned down and captured Taylor's mouth in a long, heated kiss. Lips and teeth and tongues clashed while hands roved over back and sides and anything else they could reach, rapidly deepening the kiss.

As Taylor felt Eric's hands start to try and work her vest off her shoulders, she insinuated her hands between the waistband of his pants and his skin. His well formed buttocks felt smooth beneath her finger tips and oddly devoid of underwear...

"Surprised?" Eric asked, breaking the kiss with a chuckle.

Meeting his amused gaze, Taylor grinned. "Hell yeah -- figured you'd be too straight laced to go commando."

"Straight laced, huh? Been called a lot of things, never straight laced." Even as he spoke, his hands made their way down her sides to brush across the smooth fabric of her pants.

"Surprised?" Taylor quoted.

Eric smirked. "Not really."

He silenced her with another dizzying kiss while his hands resumed attempting to remove her vest. Taylor obliged, moving her arms so that the garment would drop away. As it fluttered to the ground, she started undoing the buttons of his uniform shirt, seized by the desire to see if her assessment of the day before was right, but haste made her fingers clumsy and finally, in frustration, she gasped either side of the shirt and pulled, ripping buttons free. As the last one came free, she pushed the ruined garment from his shoulders...only to realise there was a t-shirt underneath it.

"Geez -- what is this, gift wrapping?"

"Like you have any room to talk," Eric retorted, plucking at the long sleeved t-shirt she had been wearing beneath her vest.

Before she could say anything more, he had disposed of her shirt, by the simple expedient of gripping it at the neck and tugging until the thin fabric gave way before, in one fluid motion, removing his own t-shirt, and Taylor forgot her momentary irritation. _Sure is nice to be right once in a while!_

Eric's chest **was** very nicely muscled. Well developed without being over developed. She couldn't resist running her fingers over rock hard pecs and feeling the way he tensed at the touch.

"Ticklish much?" she teased.

"Maybe," he answered.

Taylor opened her mouth to reply and found it promptly filled as Eric leaned in for another intense kiss. As she sucked on his tongue, she felt his hands go to her waist. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking them closer together. Her hands went to his head, caressing his face as they kissed. She was aware that he was moving them, but it wasn't until she found herself being gently set down and she felt the mossy cave floor against her back that she realised what he'd done.

Taylor lay back, drawing him down over her, loving the way they fit together. The kiss finally came to an end and Eric moved down her body, kissing, nipping, licking, sucking. Taylor let herself be carried away by the haze of sensations, while outside the cave a lone Eagle kept watch over an apparently empty glade.

~*~

Much later, lying together in a sated, tangled heap, Taylor couldn't help but think the wait had been worth while. Anything they'd managed to do earlier would have been perforce hurried, whereas this had been and extended exploration of each other. She shifted a little to see if Eric was asleep. He wasn't. Instead his dark brown eyes were regarding her with a mix of curiosity and no small amount of trepidation.

"'Sup?" she asked, lightly running her fingertips down the middle of his chest, watching him vainly try not to flinch at the touch.

"Would you quit that?" he pleaded. "Yes, all right damnit -- I am ticklish! Stop!"

Taylor giggled as he tried to squirm away from her fingers. "Make me."

With a growl, Eric managed to shift their positions until he had her trapped beneath him. "Don't be making challenges your nobility can't honour."

Taylor arched up and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "Who says I can't honour them?"

"You're incorrigible."

"But you love me for it."

Eric tensed at the teasing remark. Quietly, he said, "Yeah. I think I'm beginning to."

He shifted, allowing Taylor to sit up. "What's up?" she asked, repeating her initial query.

He gave a shrug. "Nothing, really..."

"But...?" Taylor prompted when it seemed as if Eric wasn't going to say anything else.

"Happiness and me tend to be no more than passing acquaintances," he said softly, staring now through the curtain of water, though Taylor suspected it was more a thousand yard stare than anything else. "Usually because I do something dumb and screw up."

"Not gonna happen this time."

His head jerked round and he turned a surprised gaze on her. "You're sure about that?"

Taylor offered a half smile. "After tonight, you **really** think I'm just gonna **let** you screw up without putting up a fight first?"

"But..."

Taylor silenced him by placing a finger against his lips. "Trust me. I have a vested interest, remember?" She leaned in closer. "Besides, you ever try screwing up..." She leaned closer still and whispered a few explicit examples of just what she'd do under those circumstances.

A smile crept across Eric's face almost despite the conversation. "And that's supposed to stop me screwing up?"

Taylor gave a chuckle as she trailed her fingers down his chest once more. "Nope -- it's to distract you so you forget all about it." Then her fingers found what they were searching for and they both abandoned conversation to other, more interesting pursuits.

~*~

"Taylor!"

Alyssa's call slowly penetrated Taylor's sleep fogged brain. There was something about it that bothered her, but for the life of her she couldn't work out why. Until it finally dawned on her that the 'pillow' she was using was gently rising and falling in the rhythm of someone fast asleep. A male someone.

__

Oh my God! Taylor sat bolt upright, realising that not only was it early morning, but that Alyssa and, as more voices reached her, the entire rest of the Rangers group, including, _Oh God!_, Princess Shayla were looking for her. And for her former pillow, who had been woken by her sudden surge upwards.

And neither of them had a stitch of clothing on.

And her shirt was wrecked...

"Breathe," Eric advised softly, sitting up. "No good panicking."

"But...they're...out there..."

"And we're in here, naked," Eric completed. "It's not a problem; we just get dressed quiet like and slip out of here when no-one's looking."

For answer, Taylor produced the remnants of her shirt. "I am **not** going out there in front of Max in just a bra."

"And pants," he pointed out.

"Oh like that makes it all..."

"I thought I might find you here."

And just when it couldn't get any worse as far as Taylor was concerned, it promptly did: The petite form of Princess Shayla entered the cavern, not only smiling in an unsurprised fashion, but also carrying a change of clothes.

Under any other circumstances, Taylor would have found Eric's reaction -- of snatching the remnants of her shirt and using it to cover himself as best it could, while literally blushing with every inch of visible skin -- hysterical, except that she was having much the same reaction, and it wasn't helped by the princess, who was giggling.

"You are both consenting adults," Shayla finally said after an interminable pause. "I'm certainly not going to interfere."

"How did you know?" Taylor finally managed to mumble.

"Contrary to what you might think," Shayla answered, "even royalty is allowed a social life. This is a favoured spot of mine for just such encounters. And," she added, "Alyssa did mention she'd accidentally caught you kissing not too far from here."

Taylor suddenly had the mental image of having just made love in her parents' bed. _Ew!_ To judge by his expression, much the same thought had crossed Eric's mind, too.

"I thought that you might find this useful," Shayla continued, apparently oblivious to the effect she'd just had on the inflagranté duo even as she handed over the clothing. "I could sense a certain...urgency about you both yesterday morning."

__

Oh God, did **everyone** know? Taylor wondered. 

"If you will let me," Shayla added, "I have some advice. You've both been alone amongst friends for much of your lives -- trust each other and you will never be alone again."

Taylor was conscious of the studious look Eric was now giving her. She gave a miniscule shrug. Looked as if they were going to have to have one of those 'relationship' talks sooner rather than later. _Oh joy..._ And yet, even as she thought that, Taylor realised she actually didn't mind the idea. It might be nice to share some of that story with someone who stood a hope in hell of understanding it.

"I will leave you to dress," Shayla finished. "And I will endeavour to make sure that Max, at least, doesn't wander this way until you return to the temple!"

* * *

__

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	6. Third Time's a Charm: Two

Disclaimer: They're not mine, though the events more or less are my creation. (More or less.)

Well, here it is. The final instalment of the story. Many, many thanks to Gamine for all her help with this. Also many thanks to everyone else who's helped at one point or another with this story -- there are quite a few of you, so I don't want to try listing you all out in case I miss someone. Finally, many thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. Very glad you've enjoyed it and very sorry it's taken me as long as it has to get done.

~*~

Taylor thought she'd been successful in sneaking back to the temple. It wasn't that she was ashamed of what she'd done -- or who she'd done it with; something she'd been very careful in explaining to Eric -- it was more that she knew her own team mates and knew that, if they caught her -- caught either of them, for that matter -- they were liable to be on the receiving end of an inquisition the Spanish couldn't hope to better.

__

"I don't know about you," she had finished, _"but I don't actually enjoy being grilled about my private life."_

Eric had smirked. _"Wes and Jen probably already know, so I'm safe."_

__

"One word," Taylor retorted._ "Max."_

__

"Ouch."

Unfortunately for Taylor, as she stepped into the temple area, a voice said, "So was he any good?"

Taylor froze. Slowly turning round, she saw Alyssa, smirking widely. "I don't know **what** you mean."

Alyssa just snickered and smirked some more. "Sure you don't. Taylor. I know I'm young, but I'm not Max -- and I **did** walk in on you...metaphorically speaking at any rate."

And to Taylor's general disgust, she found herself blushing.

"So? Was he any good?" Alyssa persisted.

"It's none of your business."

"No," Alyssa agreed, "but I lusted after him for **five** years -- could you at least tell me if my fantasy's anywhere near reality."

"And how the hell am I going to know **that**?" Taylor demanded.

"Well, I've seen him work out," Alyssa admitted, "so I've got a pretty good idea what he looks like...I just want to know if he can..."

"Put it to use?" Taylor suggested. Alyssa nodded. For a second, Taylor debated her answer, then she smiled. "Think about the absolute best experience you've ever had, triple it...and you're kinda half way there."

Then before Alyssa could say any more, Taylor swept out of earshot and into her rooms at the temple.

~*~

In due course, everyone else returned to the temple. Plans were laid and, when the Mutorgs reappeared, those plans were put into practice. Ransik was to deal with the mutant side of the Mutorgs' DNA, while the rest of them would deal with Master Orgs' assorted lackeys and putrids, then, once the DNA was taken care of, they'd finish off the Mutorgs. Very simple, very straight forward and, somewhat to Taylor's surprise, it all worked like a dream.

From her own perspective, it had been an interesting exercise. She had, as Wes had hinted the previous night, been partnered with Eric, with Katie, the Time Force Yellow Ranger, rounding out their little group. Taylor quickly realised, though, that all she and Katie were there for was rounding out the numbers. For every one putrid she and Katie took out, Eric took out five or six. The man was very, very good.

Sitting beneath an apple tree, away from the otherwise loud celebrations at a job well done, Taylor smiled a little bit. She had a feeling that, if she were to let him, he'd get involved in the war against the Orgs on a permanent basis, protecting her. She shook her head. She could take care of herself very nicely; she didn't need a protector. On the other hand, Taylor smiled faintly again, maybe it would be nice not to have to rely on herself so completely.

"Avoiding me?"

Taylor started at the voice, cracking her head against the tree trunk. "Ow!" Rubbing the spot, she looked round to see Eric leaning against another tree. He looked apologetic.

"Sorry. Figured you knew I was there." He hesitated a beat, then added, "You OK?"

Taylor gave him a jaundiced look. "What do you think?" He looked even more apologetic. She relented. "I'll live. Just try not to do it again, huh?"

At that, he smiled. "I'll do my best not to."

"And to answer your question," Taylor continued, "no, I'm not avoiding you. I just wanted some peace and quiet to think."

"I can..."

"Sit," Taylor finished before he could offer to leave her alone. Eric's eyebrows lifted. She sighed. "We need to talk."

"Four words guaranteed to get a guy running in the other direction," Eric joked.

Taylor shook her head. "I'm serious."

"So'm I." The amusement faded from his face. "If this is going to be one of those 'bare all' conversations, I'm outta here."

Taylor sighed. "Look -- we've slept together, we've fought together...we haven't had a proper conversation yet."

Eric slowly slid down the tree trunk he was leaning against until he was squatting at its base, arms loosely wrapped around his knees. "I guess." He sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well -- us." Eric started to roll his eyes. "No; wait." Taylor held up a hand. "Hear me out." Eric nodded. "What..." Taylor swallowed. "What was last night to you?" He frowned. "I know you said you and happiness don't tend to be long time acquaintances..."

A look of understanding crossed Eric's face. "It being a one night stand would simple things up."

Taylor tried to swallow the hurt that welled up at the suggestion.

He shook his head. "Didn't mean I wanted that." He sighed. "I don't."

"So...what then?"

"What do you want out of it?" Eric asked, turning the question back on her.

"I don't know," Taylor admitted. "You're not the only one with a bad track record in this sort of thing."

"Guess we make a good pair, then." Eric smiled faintly. 

Taylor matched the smile. "Guess we do."

There was silence between them at that. There was a lot still unsaid, a lot of questions that still needed answers, but there seemed to be the beginnings of an understanding between them. Taylor had the sense, from what had been said so far, that whatever else did or didn't happen, they would try to make this work.

"So, what now?" Eric asked eventually. 

Taylor offered a shy smile. "Guess we could be revolutionary and try getting to know one another."

At that, Eric laughed. "I guess we have done this thing kinda backwards."

Taylor's smile turned into a grin. "Isn't that half the fun?"

More laughter. "I guess."

At that moment, the sound of running footsteps intruded. A moment later and Max crashed into the clearing, closely followed by Ransik, then Nadira and Lucas. None of the running quartet paid the slightest attention to either Eric or Taylor and a moment later, all four had vanished.

Taylor and Eric exchanged looks. "Do we want to know what that was about?" Taylor asked.

Eric shook his head. "I doubt it." He pushed to his feet and crossed the space between them to stand over Taylor. He held a hand out to her. "We probably ought to go rejoin the others, though."

Taylor sighed and took hold of his hand, letting him pull her back to her feet. "Yeah. I guess."

They started to head in the direction of the picnic, arm in arm.

"You doing anything tomorrow?" Eric asked suddenly.

Taylor looked up at his face, but it was giving nothing away, just the faintest hint of a smirk lurking around his eyes and that was it. "I didn't have any plans. Why?"

"It's my day off. We could...maybe do something."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

The smirk broke out. "Yeah -- I guess I am."

Taylor matched the smirk. "Sounds like it could be fun, 'doing something'."

"Oh, I hope so." Eric bent to drop a light kiss on her lips. "I sure hope so."

~Ends~


End file.
